Essential election results of the 2025 German election

Three things came out of Germany's general elections, says The economist.

First, the conservative Christian Democrats of the opposition conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) together with their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), won a definitive, albeit overwhelming victory with 29% of the votes.

Friedrich Merz will take over as Chancellor by Olaf Scholz, whose SPD party has relegated to third place since his worst performance since 1887.

Subscribe to Fabric

Subscribe to the Moneyweek today and get your first six magazine editions absolutely free of charge

Get 6 problems for free

Register at Money in the morning

Do not miss the latest news for investments and personal finances, market analysis and money savings with our free twice daily newsletter

Second, the difficult right alternative for Germany (AfD) achieved its best result with 20% of the votes and roughly doubled its seats in the Bundestag.

Third, the “extraordinary turnout” of 83%; The highest number since German reunification in 1990.

The popularity of the AfD, especially among younger voters, is largely due to the desire for a “stricter approach” for immigration, which is heated by a number of fatal attacks with foreigners The times. In 2015, Angela Merkel “threw the doors to spend more than a million Syrian refugees.

What's next for Germany?

The combined coordination for the CDU and AfD show that Germany's “clear preference” is for a right government, says The Telegraph.

But since Merz has excluded a partnership with the AfD (viewed by many as a neo-fascist unit), the most likely result is a two-party coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD, a “discredited party of the left”-a return to the “Grand Coalition”, which was available for three of Angela Merkel's four terms.

Geopolitical and economic realities should help accelerate the coalition talks. In terms of concerns about immigration, the fear of security is “strategic retreat in view of Russia and America's expansionism, says, says The times.

Merz wasted no time to terminate a new era in Europe and demanded the immediate strengthening of the defense of Europe to establish “real independence” from the USA. He recently suggested that he would look at France and Great Britain to replace US atomic guarantees.

With all the powerful conversation, the upcoming road is littered with obstacles. “Military autonomy will cost billions” and Germany's economy is flat. The country is “a main goal for US tariffs and China's dumping”.

Merz's expenditure is severely restricted by a “debt brake”, which limits the federal borrowing to no more than 0.35% of GDP (it was spoken to scrap this).

While the “risks of a transatlantic fissure have clearly increased”, it will be difficult to cancel the overall connections, says Neil Shear in capital economy. Despite the “head spider” of the events, there are “powerful forces” against Europe in practice, which separate from the United States to become a “third superpower”.

“Political, cultural, social, economic and security ties” are “wide and deep”. Europe is an important part of the “economic diversity” of the US block, and the United States has rely on Europe as part of its “advance”.

A deal to end the war in Ukraine could occur faster. The pressure to increase defense spending will be “intensive”. The most likely result, however, is that the United States and Europe will be “still allies” in four years.

This article was first published in Moneyweek's magazine. Enjoy the exclusive early access to news, opinions and analyzes of our team of financial experts with A Moneyweek subscription.

Essential election results of the 2025 German election

Related posts:

Jewish teenagers break records on the Cteen International Summit

UF election results are available. Here is a look at the numbers behind the landslide.

When does '1923' come? Time publication time, information and much more